GO Benin

Why Nigeria should not push its luck, by Bolaji Akinyemi

*Says those asking for SNC are  not lunatics *Speaks on the fears and grievances of nationalities I am aware of the genesis of the concept of Sovereign National Conference and the fact that the term sovereign had come in public perception to signify the exercise of governmental powers even while a government is in place. However, as a political scientist, I also know that the same term could evolve into a modified concept in a different political environment depending on the historical peculiarities of that environment. The history of Nigeria under military rule had been one of the military government in place changing the provisions of the draft constitution agreed upon at a constitutional conference and incorporating its own views in the final version. It is against this background that proponents of the Sovereign National Conference have argued that what Sovereign connotes in this context is that any constitutional draft agreed to by the National Conference will not be subject to amendments by any other body. It will only be subject to a national referendum.

To my understanding, the Nigerian proponents of the Sovereign National Conference had never intended for the Conference to exercise some or all the powers of the government of the day. But William Shakespeare solved the problem when he wrote “what is in a name. A rose by any other name will still smell a rose.” And so I propose that the term sovereign be dropped from the demand for a Sovereign National Conference provided there is an understanding that the outcome of such a conference will not be subject to any amendments or adjustments by the government of the day. continued

En Image, le Nigeria Réel

Nigeria: the challenge of “Boko Haram II”

The radical Islamist group Boko Haram poses an increasing threat to the Nigerian state in the country’s north. How has it become so powerful and effective? The ingredients of an answer lie in the complex history, power-relationships and social inequalities of this marginalised region, says Morten Bøås. The tradition of Islamic radicalism that exists in northern Nigeria has mainly been non-worldly: the advocacy of a purer way of Islamic life. This changed at the turn of the millennium with the emergence of so-called “Taliban” groups. They both had a more coherent worldview (which sought the establishment of an Islamic government in Nigeria) and were willing to use violence to further their objectives. These groups were crushed by the Nigerian state in 2004, but Boko Haram - which had been established in 2002, and which the government saw as an unthreatening religious organisation - continued to exist. After the group turned violent, its original leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was arrested and killed in 2009. At the time this was seen as having put an end to the organisation, but this proved not to be the case. Boko Haram has re-emerged from the ashes of the death of its original leader as an avant-garde organisation embracing the strategy of hyper-violent, spectacular and deadly terrorist attacks. The question is how this could happen. The marginalisation of northern Nigeria within the context of the country as a whole, and the inequality between the north and south of Nigeria and how this may have alienated some northerners, must be taken into consideration as part

of the answer. This article, however, seeks also to place Boko Haram into a broader context, by exploring three factors: * historical forces leading to its emergence * issues concerning internal collusion between Boko Haram activists and well-connected Nigerian “big men” * external support for the organisation through emerging Af- rican jihadist networks. A movement reborn The long tradition of Islamic radicalism in northern Nigeria notwithstanding, actual organised armed struggle against the state is new. It first appeared around 2002, though the nature of the multiple bomb-attacks in Kano on 25 December 2011 (targeting churches and Christian worshippers) and 20 January 2012 (targeting police stations and other government buildings) suggests that this struggle has entered a new phase. continued

‘Benin Customs extort Nigerian importers, agents’

 

TEN of the Benin Republic Customs are extorting Nigerian businessmen and agents at Seme border and also subjecting them to multiple duty payments, which violates the Economic Community of West African States (EECOWAS) treaty. Some importers, who don’t want their names mentioned, told our correspondent that cargoes billed for Nigeria from Benin Republic are now being subjected to multiple duty payment by the Beninoise Customs. “Besides, they collect extra charges of between N80, 000 and N100, 000, which are not receipted just to get our cargoes and trucks to the Nigerian side of the border,” the businessmen said. But under ECOWAS treaty, trucks conveying goods from Benin Republic to Nigeria are designated as transit goods, which ordinarily should attract minimal duty having satisfied the import regulation law of Benin Republic but the customs ignore this.

The importers said the problem arose as a result of the ECOWAS joint development project sponsored by the European Union (EU), which has forced the Nigeria Customs Service, Seme command and other security agencies around the border to relocate their offices to the Nigeria end of the border. The relocation was necessitated by the plan to demolish the ECOWAS building, which hitherto accommodated the security agencies, such as the Immigration, Customs, Port Health, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other security agencies. continued

Fashola asks Jonathan to withdraw soldiers from Lagos streets

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Monday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to order the immediate withdrawal of soldiers from the streets of the state. In a televised broadcast to the people of the state, Fashola said there was no justification for government to have deployed soldiers against peaceful protesters. Fashola noted that the denunciation of the removal of fuel subsidy had gone on peacefully in the state. He said he made efforts to ensure matters did not get out hand but regretted that a resident, Ademola Aderintoa, was shot dead by a police office. Full text of Fashola’s speech: Dear Lagosians, For the past few days, I have monitored the developments related to the public protest against the increase in the pump price of petrol. During that period, I have at the invitation of my colleagues in the Governor’s Forum responded to an invitation from the Presidency. My role since last Monday till date has been to find a ground of compromise that stabilizes the polity, protects our democracy and prevent any loss of lives.

Inspite of these efforts, we were not wholly successful in preventing the loss of the life of a young Nigerian, Ademola Aderinto, who was sadly shot. I am truly saddened by that ugly development. While I condole with his family, I pledge the commitment of our Government to bring the alleged perpetrator to justice. I have decided to address you today in view of the very disquieting developments that occurred overnight especially the deployment of soldiers across Lagos. continued

Reporters Sans Frontières Relève les Violations des Libertés au Bénin

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Nigerians to enjoy fortified cassava by 2014 – IITA

On December 8, 2011 · In News Ibadan – By the middle of  2014, more than 150,000 households in Nigeria are expected to be eating vitamin A fortified yellow cassava, an international agricultural organisation, HarvestPlus, said HarvestPlus  is an international partner of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)  leading  a global effort to breed and disseminate micro-nutrient-rich staple food crops to reduce hunger in malnourished populations. In a release in Ibadan on Thursday,  IITA quoted HarvestPlus as saying that  yellow cassava varieties could provide more vitamin A in the diets of more than 70 million Nigerians, who ate cassava everyday. The release, signed by Godwin Atser, the spokesman for IITA,  stated that yellow cassava varieties were  already being multiplied through stem cuttings. It said that  by 2013 when sufficient certified stems would be  available for HarvestPlus and its partners to distribute to about 25,000 farming households initially. The release said farmers would be able to grow the new vitamin A varieties and feed their families on them and in addition, multiply and share cuttings with others in the community,  thus amplifying the nutritional benefits. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is widely prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa,  afflicting almost 20 per cent of pregnant women and about 30 per cent of children under the age of five in Nigeria, the release stated. It added that VAD could  lower immunity and impair vision, leading to blindness and even death. The release stated that  children and women would be the main beneficiaries of these new yellow varieties, which could provide up to 25 per cent of  daily vitamin A needs. It said that varieties with enough vitamin A to provide up to half of daily needs were already in the breeding pipeline and should be ready for release in a few years… continued

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Ghana Discovers Iron Ore

Nana Bi-Kusi Appiah, Manso Nkwanta Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region (left) cutting the sod to commission the Emmaland Resource Center. Ghana has discovered large deposit of iron ore at Sheini Hills in the Zabzugu Tatale District of the Northern region. The Sheini Hills iron ore project is anticipated to contribute significantly to the growth of the Ghana’s economy. Speaking at the commissioning of Emmaland and Cardero Ghana Limited building, Emmanuel Ababio, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, said the mining of iron ore marked the beginning of a new era for Ghana’s economic development. Emmaland and Cardero Ghana Limited has been issued with license to develop the Sheini iron ore deposit in the Zabzugu Tatale District in the Northern region. He said the company has the capacity to employ thousands of people, provide basic infrastructure, improve upon the living condition of the people in the catchment area and transform the country. Mr. Ababio said as part of the company’s social responsibility even before the project fully takes off, it has graded the road to link Zabzugu to the Sheini and rehabilitated the abandoned presidential lodge at Zabzugu which they will use as their office. They have also equipped the district assemblies with computers to facilitate their work. continued

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Agricultural Sustainability in Africa : the Role of Science

African Farmland

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Zanku Dô Ojukwu Ðo Londonu (Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has died at 78 in London.)

 

Ojukwu, who was the National Leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, died on Saturday morning at the Hospital between 1am and 2am local time. Prior to that trip, he was on admission at the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu following a cerebra-vascular accident otherwise called stroke. There had been rumours of his death since then but they were always dispelled by the Anambra State Government and his family. The secretive nature with which his family treated his health condition fuelled regular speculations about his state. He is survived by his wife, Bianca; two children from the former beauty queen; and many other children from previous marriages. At the celebration of his 78th birthday at his Forest Crescent, Enugu GRA residence, a number of personalities gathered to celebrate the former Biafran warlord. His wife had told the gathering that Ojukwu was recovering from his ailment and was positive he would return home soon. According to wikipedia, "Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was born on November 4, 1933 at Zungeru in northern Nigeria to Sir Louis Phillippe Odumegwu Ojukwu, a businessman from Nnewi in south-eastern Nigeria. Sir Louis was in the transport business; he took advantage of the business boom during the Second World War to become one of the richest men in Nigeria. "Emeka began his educational career in Lagos, southwestern Nigeria. In 1944, Emeka was briefly imprisoned for assaulting a white British colonial teacher who was humiliating a black woman at King's College in Lagos, an event which generated widespread coverage in local newspapers. At 13, his father sent him overseas to study in Britain, first at Epsom College, in Surrey and later earned a Masters degree in history at Lincoln College, Oxford University He returned to colonial Nigeria in 1956. He joined the civil service in Eastern Nigeria as an Administrative Officer at Udi, in present-day Enugu State. In 1957, within months of working with the colonial civil service, he left and joined the military as one of the first and few university graduates to join the army: O. Olutoye (1956); C. Odumegwu-Ojukwu (1957), E. A. Ifeajuna and C. O. Rotimi (1960), and A. Ademoyega (1962). "Ojukwu's background and education guaranteed his promotion to higher ranks. At that time, the Nigerian Military Forces had 250 officers and only 15 were Nigerians. There were 6,400 other ranks, of which 336 were British. It is not surprising that at N/29 the army found in valuable training resources in the young man. [W.U. Bassey was N/1, while JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi was N/2; the first Nigerian to be commissioned as an officer, Lieutenant L. V. Ugboma, left in 1948]. "After serving in the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in the Congo, under Major General Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, Ojuwkwu was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1964 and posted to Kano, where he was in charge of the 5th Battalion of the Nigerian Army. "Lt.-Col. Ojukwu was in Kano, northern Nigeria, when Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu on 15 January 1966 executed and announced the bloody military coup in Kaduna, also in northern Nigeria. It is to his credit that the coup lost much steam in the north, where it had succeeded. Lt. Col. Odumegwu-Ojukwu supported the forces loyal to the Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Major-General Aguiyi-Ironisi. Major Nzeogwu was in control of Kaduna, but the coup had flopped in other parts of the country. He surrendered. "General Aguiyi-Ironsi took over the leadership of the country and thus became the first military head of state. On Monday, 17 January 1966, he appointed military governors for the four regions. Lt. Col. Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Military Governor of Eastern Region. Others were: Lt.-Cols Hassan Usman Katsina (North), Francis Adekunle Fajuyi (West), and David Akpode Ejoor (Mid West). These men formed the Supreme Military Council with Brigadier B.A.O Ogundipe, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, Chief of Staff Army HQ, Commodore J. E. A. Wey, Head of Nigerian Navy, Lt. Col. George T. Kurubo, Head of Air Force. "By 29 May 1966, things quickly fell apart: There was a planned Pogrom in northern Nigeria during which Nigerians of South-Eastern Nigeria origin were targeted and killed. This presented problems for the young military governor, Colonel Odumegwu-Ojukwu. He did everything in his power to prevent reprisals and even encouraged people to return, as assurances for their safety had been given by his supposed colleagues up north and out west.

"On 29 July 1966, a group of officers of Northern origin, notably Majors Murtala Ramat Rufai Muhammed, Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, and Martin Adamu, led the majority Northern soldiers in a mutiny that was later tagged “counter-coup.” The Supreme Commander General Aguiyi-Ironsi and his host Colonel Fajuyi were abducted and killed in Ibadan. "First, he insisted that the military hierarchy must be preserved; in which case, Brigadier Ogundipe should take over leadership, not Colonel Gowon. But Ogundipe no longer had the stomach to deal with the army; he was easily convinced to step aside and was posted to the Nigerian High Commission in London. "Leader of Biafra "General Ojukwu"In January 1967, the Nigerian military leadership went to Aburi, Ghana for a peace conference hosted by General Joseph Ankrah. The implementation of the agreements reached at Aburi fell apart upon the leaderships return to Nigeria and on 30 May 1967, Colonel Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared Eastern Nigeria a sovereign state to be known as BIAFRA: "Having mandated me to proclaim on your behalf, and in your name, that Eastern Nigeria be a sovereign independent Republic, now, therefore I, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, by virtue of the authority, and pursuant to the principles recited above, do hereby solemnly proclaim that the territory and region known as and called Eastern Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters, shall, henceforth, be an independent sovereign state of the name and title of The Republic of Biafra." "On 6 July 1967, Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra. For 30 months, the war raged on. Now General Odumegwu-Ojukwu knew that the odds against the new republic was overwhelming. "Most European states recognised the illegitimacy of the Nigerian military rule and banned all future supplies of arms, but the UK government substantially increased its supplies, even sending British Army and Royal Air Force advisors. "After three years of non-stop fighting and starvation, a hole did appear in the Biafran front lines and this was exploited by the Nigerian military. As it became obvious that all was lost, Ojukwu was convinced to leave the country to avoid his certain assassination. On 9 January 1970, General Odumegwu-Ojukwu handed over power to his second in command, Chief of General Staff Major-General Philip Effiong, and left for Côte d'Ivoire, where President Felix Houphöet-Biogny—who had recognized Biafra on 14 May 1968—granted him political asylum.  continued

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